R. Buckminster Fuller

I was fortunate to learn about R. Buckminster "Bucky" Fuller from my good friend Johhny Weiss at Solar Energy International. Johnny spent some time with Bucky back in the days of John Denver and the Windstar Foundation near Aspen Colorado. Johnny told me this story about Bucky. When Bucky was in school the teacher drew a line on the chalkboard. Bucky asked his teacher, “What does that line weigh". I love this story and the stir this must have created in the classroom. Bucky was always asking the questions that others refused to ask. This is the thinking we are being called to embrace. And to not be stopped by those who say it can’t be done. His personal story is compelling and touching.

The following passage is often quoted. Reprinted here with apologies to the original author. "At the age of 32, Buckminster Fuller stood on the shores of Lake Michigan, prepared to throw himself into the freezing waters. His first child had died. He was bankrupt, discredited and jobless, and he had a wife and new-born daughter. On the verge of suicide, it suddenly struck him that his life belonged, not to himself, but to the universe. He chose at that moment to embark on what he called “an experiment to discover what the little, penniless, unknown individual might be able to do effectively on behalf of all humanity.” He resolved this personal crisis by "committing egocide," by transforming his life into an experiment for the benefit of humanity. Over the next fifty-four years, he proved, time and again, that his most controversial ideas were practical and workable."

"The challenge is to make the world work for 100% of humanity in the shortest possible time, with spontaneous cooperation and without ecological damage or disadvantage of anyone. “We are called to be architects of the future, not its victims."

-- R. Buckminster Fuller

We invite you to join the YesHaus team in this vision of the future. Consider we are all architects of the future with the knowledge, passion and creativity to effect change in housing and in the lives of others.